Fall Harvest Time Planning Guide

What is included in our field trip?

Your class will be participating in the Fall Harvest Time field trip, which is designed to provide hands-on learning about the natural world in the context of seasonal farm activities.  The following activities are included in your field trip:

·         Pick your own pumpkin in the Great Pumpkin Patch

·         Take a hayride around the farm

·         Visit the following learning stations:

o   Pumpkin Life Cycle Station:  Covers plant growth and pollination

o   Honeybee Station:  Illustrates types of honeybees and their roles in the hive

o   Observation Honeybee Hive

o   Ye Olde Barnyard:  Fun farm animal facts

·         Have fun on the farm:

o   Fun Barn Swings or Pumpkin Mountain Slide (our tour guides will select one for you when the time comes – based on availability and group ages)

o   Little Farmer’s Corral

o   Picnic tables & concessions

Please note that the following areas of the farm are not open during the field trips, as our focus during the week is on our educational program:  Zip Line, Pedal Tractors, Pig Races, Antique Corn Grinder, Scarecrow Workshop, Corn Maze (except for the Great Adventure Maize Maze field trips), Joust, Moon Bounce, Pumpkin Sling Shots, and Duck Races.  These activities are only available when we are open to the public during our weekend Fall Harvest Festival.  We apologize for any inconvenience, but will be providing bookmark coupons for all students so they can bring their families for the weekend.

Where do we go when we arrive?

Whether you arrive by bus or by car, look for our Tour Guides (denim overalls, red shirts), who will show you where to park.  Once the vehicles are safely parked, please have one member of your group check-in at our admissions booth.  All other group leaders should have the children bring their lunches, and line up at the appropriate flag.  Our Tour Guides will tell you which flag is assigned to your group.  There will be a wheelbarrow at each flag for the children’s lunches. Please note that the groups are assigned based on classroom – not school.  Therefore, one school may have multiple flags.  Please be sure to stay with your designated flag during the entire day. 

Once the group is checked in, our Tour Guides will give your group a brief introduction to the farm and to the activities planned for the day.  They will then direct your group to walk down to the bottom of the hill where the Fun Barn is located.  Please select an adult from your group to bring the wheelbarrow of lunches down the hill at this time.  They can park the wheelbarrow at a picnic table, and then rejoin the group.

How do we know which stations to go to?

Once your group arrives at the bottom of the hill, the Traffic Director will send you to your first activity.  Please note that this decision is made based on the availability of stations at that time.  There is no set order on when you will attend a certain station.  This ensures that all groups are able to spend ample time at each station, and that you are never waiting for another group to finish.  Once you have completed the program at a given station, the Tour Guide will direct you to the next station, based on availability.

During this time, it is very important to stay with your flag.  If your school has 4 different flags, each flag will be sent to a different station.  This keeps groups sizes small, and ensures that all children are given the same opportunities.

When do we pick our pumpkin?

Visiting the Great Pumpkin Patch is included as one of the stations.  Therefore, your group will be sent to the field based on availability.  The majority of the groups will do this first, while others will be sent to other activities first.  This year, the Great Pumpkin Patch is located just a short walk from the Fun Barn.  Therefore, groups will walk to the Patch, and then take the hayride around the farm to the top of the hill near the parking lot after they have picked their pumpkin.  Each participant will receive a bag for their pumpkin.  We encourage you to bring pre-printed labels or a permanent marker for putting the names on each bag.  Once the hayride has ended, wheelbarrows can be used to transport all of the pumpkins back to the buses.  Your group will then proceed back down the hill to the Traffic Director (near the Fun Barn), who will send you to your next station.

What should we bring?

·         Bag lunch (or money for concessions)

·         Water bottles

·         Pre-printed labels or permanent marker for pumpkin bag

·         Cameras & batteries (CAUTION – Many cameras, cell phones, and keys get lost in the Fun Barn and on the Hayride.  Please secure items.)

·         Sun screen

·         Bug spray

·         Allergy medicines, if applicable

·         Umbrella or wet weather gear, if applicable

What should we wear?

·         Comfortable shoes – you will be walking on gravel and grass

·         Layers – it is generally cool in the morning, and warm by lunch.  ALL ACTIVITIES ARE OUTSIDE

·         It is highly recommended that you NOT wear perfumes – there are working beehives on the farm that may be attracted